Falling
by Little-miss-miscellaneous
Summary: Aderyn Yodoshika is known as a socially awkward but happy teenaged CEO of a weapons and transportation company, but there is a side of her the no one can see. A side that causes the tears and pain when everyone has their backs turned. She needs saving.
1. Chapter 1

The plane ride was excruciatingly long; not even riding in first class made it any better with four hours left before our landing in Tokyo. One of the flight attendants stopped by my seat to ask me if I needed any snacks or beverages. "No, I'm fine", I replied simply. After such a long trip and so much more time left to go, most of the snacks looked unappetizing.

I took out my iPod and absentmindedly shuffled through the playlists until I was satisfied with the heavy rock songs that were filling my ears. In my head I ran through the plan; get off, find my luggage, locate Haruhi, go to lunch, and get the keys to my new home. I sighed, it's been such a long time since Haruhi and I last saw each other.

I felt guilty for not calling her as often as I should; we became friends during my family's short stay in Tokyo. It was a business trip, I was very young; not old enough to know that we were meeting up with a client, and I met Haruhi at a daycare center while my mom and dad were having lunch with the purchaser. I was scared, alone, and not able to speak the same language as the rest of the kids there. But for some reason, even though I was speaking a different language then her, Haruhi offered to play with me. Through the rest of the day, She and I had become inseparable; sharing our snacks and communicating through body language. By the time our parents had come for us, we were so reluctant to leave each other that frequent play dates were set in the park over the next three months until it was time for me and my parents to go back to America.

All this reminiscing was wearing me out and making me desperately crave some of that food the flight attendant had offered me. Deciding it wouldn't be that best idea to resort to junk food for contentment; I turned up my music and readily accepted the sleep that had been put off for so long.

I awoke to the sound of our location being announced in at least five different languages over the Airplane intercom, all of which I could decipher with slight ease. As my eyes focused, I peered out the window to find the familiar Tokyo airport come into view. Quickly unbuckling myself, I prepared to file out of the plane and begin my search for Haruhi. She had to be close, both Haruhi and I knew that I never was very good at locating things, even if flying to meet people recently became a regular thing in my sixteen-year-old life.

I ran my fingers through my long, dark hair and stood up to finally exit the plane; I found it mildly uncomfortable to be traveling on an aircraft that my father designed, especially because he wouldn't be designing any more of them for my family's company. _Well, I guess it's my company now._ I sighed and suppressed the unwelcome thought.

After getting off the plane and exiting the terminal, I quickly picked up my luggage from the conveyor belt and set out in search of Haruhi. On my way out of the airport, I passed a reflective surface that showed me my miserable, pale, blue-green eyes. _Jeez, I need to cheer up._ Anyone who got a good look at me would think that I'm some depressed mall-goth kid.

I wouldn't blame 'em though. Black converse, dark blue-jeans, and a maroon spaghetti-strap top with a light blue zip-up hoodie over it being the only bright thing about my current wardrobe didn't exactly scream emotionally stable._ God I need to update my wardrobe. This is just sad, really. _

My thoughts flew out the window when out of nowhere I was grabbed by the shoulders and hauled backwards without catching a glimpse of my captors.

"Is this her?" two voices chimed in unison. I was too shocked to make any comprehendible noise and tripped over my own feet. Falling on my tailbone, I grimaced. The short burst of pain brought me to my senses and I sprung up with a clenched fist expertly aimed and flying towards the face of one of my captors.

I got a glimpse of him then, slightly spiked red hair, golden eyes widened in surprise at my sudden defensive reaction, handsome face and a decent body to match. _Note to self: Analytical skills plus the mind of a girl in the face of an attractive enemy is not good for me. _Suddenly he ducked and I spun around to aim at the other so he could find out why you don't go kidnapping people, least of all the daughter of two infamous weapons and transportation designers. As I locked on my target I realized he was the exact same person I had first swung at, or was he?

"MORI!" he yelled. Not a moment later I was suspended in the air with my arms trapped to my sides and feet dangling. _Huh? WTF!_

"Hey!" I screeched, "What the…? Let. Me. down! NOW!" when I didn't get an answer or my command fulfilled, I was just about to start kicking and ask them who in the hell they thought they were dealing with when a calm and familiar voice sounded close by.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"Haruhi?"

"Who else? I apologize for my friends' mode of locating people." She giggled

"Oh, um, heh. S-so, they're you're friends?" _Oops. _I would have rubbed the back of my neck but I then remembered that I was still at least five feet above the ground with my arms super-glued to my sides. " C-can I come down now? I promise that I won't kill anyone" I said nervously, eyeing the twins whom had kidnapped me.

"Mori? I'm pretty sure we can trust her." The guy called Mori plopped me on my feet with a grunt and let my arms free. I rubbed them tenderly, getting a good look at him. The guy was huge, at least seven feet tall, then it registered.

_I am. Such. An IDIOT! Jeez, Haruhi had spent so much time telling me about her club situation and people she had befriended since I last left Tokyo with my family, you think I would have them burned into my memory._ "Ummmmm… Oopsie, sorry about that you guys, I didn't recognize you at first. Heh."

I immediately caught sight of a person who could only be Tamaki with a horror-struck expression plastered on his overly dramatic face, his mouth gaping open. Hunni was expertly perched on Mori's shoulders and both appeared to be studying me. The dorkamese twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, were giving me identical pathetic excuses for glares and I gave them my patented death stare in return, which earned me the desired effect of two pairs of widened eyes. Kyoya pushed up his glasses and continued scrawling in his little black book.

"So, where's my hug?" I heard Haruhi say expectantly. I grinned and spun around to wrap my arms around my much-missed friend.

"You're letting her hug you after what she did to Hikaru and Kaoru?" Tamaki asked bewildered, clearly snapping out of his dramatic state.

"Well yeah, anyone would freak if they thought they were being kidnapped by a couple of unidentifiable strangers." She eyed the twins accusingly and they looked down sheepishly, avoiding her gaze.

"Besides, I didn't even hit 'em, he ducked too soon." I pointed to Hikaru "and the other one cheated" I instantly regretted saying why they didn't get laid out and quickly added "I'm sorry" Tamaki frowned, not totally buying my apology.

"Well, _I_ think that we should forgive Haruhi's friend." Mitsukuni piped up "She _did_ say that she was sorry after all." I smiled up at him in a silent thanks and he winked. _It should be illegal for anyone to be that cute. _

"Fine" the twins groaned in unison.

"It would be illogical not to" Kyoya added.

"Aa" Takashi agreed.

"Well, now that we're all on good terms…" I began.

"On one condition…" one twin started. _Oh, what NOW?_

"tell us why you came." The other finished.

"Why should I have to tell you that?"

"Because we were curious and Haruhi wouldn't tell." Kaoru whined. _Why, why of all questions did they have to ask _this_ one?_ Images of that fateful night just three months ago flashed into my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and clung to my composition. It hurt so much that I felt physically sick and my stomach twisted into knots.

"She doesn't have to answer that if she doesn't want to." I let out a sigh and the corners of my mouth twitched in relief. Man, Haruhi was such a lifesaver. She was there for me as much as she could after she heard about the "house robbery gone bad" or so they called it.

There were only four people on the face of the earth that knew what really happened that night; me, the two assassins, and the guy that had hired them. But I could _never_ say something that dark to Haruhi. No matter how compassionate and understanding she was, I could only ever tell what the news channels said: "house robbery gone bad, sole survivor goes to orphanage under new name." besides, it didn't matter now, I was safe here after the orphanage kicked me out because I was a danger to the other kids just for existing, I was practically painting a red target on the roof of that place. It certainly does help to have government friends that can alter your records so that you "aged" out of the system. I sighed, putting those thoughts into the back of my head where they belonged.

"Ummmmm, Haruhi? I know we were supposed to go to lunch but I only brought enough money for the two of us, sooo…"

"Oh that's okay, Tamaki offered to take us all somewhere so they could get to know you better."

"Oh, well, do you think they're alright with that? I don't think I made a very good impression with trying to mop the airport floors with the dorkamese twins' faces."

"They get over things fast, you're fine." I glanced over at Tamaki whom I noticed had already taken to calling me his daughter and was currently fawning over how shiny my hair was.

"Creep." I muttered.

Haruhi just chuckled


	2. Chapter 2

Once we all hopped into the limo outside the airport entrance, most of the ride to the restaurant was filled with one huge game of 20 questions, or should I say, 1,000 questions… _ugh. _

"So you're an American?"

"uh, yeah, kinda…"

"What do you mean, _kinda_?"

"My dad is Japanese."

"Oh."

"What was your old city like?"

"um, I guess Miami's pretty cool…I liked it…"

"Do you like cake?"

"Yeah, I like pretty much anything sweet."

"What is the American school system like?"

"Well, It's only a little different, we have four years of high school, not three."

"Interesting…"

"What's your favorite food?"

"Hm? Oh, anything really. I'm not picky."

"Weird…"

"Eh? I'm not weird!"

"Hikaru! Quit upsetting my long-lost daughter!"

"It's okay Tamaki! Ouch! This limo's too small to be flailing around in, calm down!" I yelped, dodging Tamaki's thrashing arms by scooting closer to Hunni and Haruhi. "Is he always like this?" I whispered to no one in particular.

"Yup!" Hunni laughed.

"Good grief," I muttered, "So, where are we going, exactly? I'm starving."

"Kyoya probably has something planned; he _is _the one who handles most of the club activities after all." Hunni answered. I glanced over to where Kyoya sat, scribbling in his little book. Pausing to meet my gaze, he pushed his glasses up onto his nose, causing then to flash eerily. _S-Scary… _my eyes widened ever so slightly and I slouched into my seat, using Mori's large figure as a makeshift shield between us. I returned my attention to Hunni to keep from meeting Kyoya's icy gaze once more. For a moment he looked as though he was debating whether or not to say something. "Don't take this the wrong way," he started, "but you're not like the other girls we see."

"Oh? What makes me different?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity.

"You act normal around us, no screaming, no fainting, you're just calm. It's kind of nice. You're just like Haruhi!" Hunni chirped.

"Okay then. Well, I'm glad to be normal!" I said, turning to Haruhi with a big smile.

Haruhi grinned in return. I was just about to ask her where we were going for lunch when the car finally stopped in front of a rather prim looking building. I looked up and read the sign- **オリエントハウスオブ ****('House of Orient')**. "Hey Haruhi, uh, I kind of had a cheeseburger in mind, not a five-star quality entrée."

"I know, but these guys don't really go for that kind of thing, you'll get used to it pretty quickly." Haruhi grumbled. She said something after that; I wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded sort of like 'rich bastards'. She sighed and gave me a small reassuring smile before the door was opened for us and we all filed out of the car. Without the tinted windows hampering my view anymore, I got a really good look at the interior of the restaurant. It was huge. And fancy. And everyone was either in a black dress, or a tux. And then there was me, blue jeans and a hoodie, with a horror-struck expression on my face and liquid self-consciousness running through my veins. At least Haruhi and her friends had their school uniforms.

"Ehhh, I don't think that I'm well dressed for such a place, you guys." I stated weakly. Tamaki turned to me, and inquisitive look on his face. And in less time than it takes to snap my fingers, his expression changed from curiosity to realization, to seriousness as he began walking toward me.

"Aderyn," He began, placing his hands on my shoulders and closing his eyes dramatically, "Do you have body issues?"

"EHHHHHHHH?" I all but screeched. His eyes snapped open and he took me into a giant hug.

"Aderyn, my dear little girl, you're beautiful no matter what anyone else says! You're perfect, absolutely gorgeous! Don't you dare let anyone else let you think otherwise!" Tamaki cried. "Come on! Let's go show everyone how pretty you really are!" With that, he took my hand and dragged me into the restaurant, everyone else following closely behind us.

"Wait! Tamaki-san!" I protested, "That's not what I…_oops._" By the time I realized I should stop shouting, it was too late. I instantly stopped struggling and stood ramrod straight, avoiding the disapproving stares of over half the occupants in the area. I kept my eyes on my shoes and played with the hem of my maroon shirt while we were tended to by the hostess, an obvious blush of embarrassment stained my cheeks.

After we were led to our table and had taken our seats, I quickly snatched up my menu and used it as cover to inconspicuously sweep the room with my eyes. After making sure that no one -but a couple little kids across the room- was staring at me I sighed and set my menu down onto the table so I could look at it for real. My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out what half of the items were, just because I was rich didn't mean that I was supposed to know all this foreign food crap. Hell, back in Miami I was perfectly content to drop by McDonald's and sack-out for a couple hours by the beach with my frozen coffee and a cheeseburger.

Half this stuff was just a bunch of weird vegetables and beans that looked pretty unappetizing from the brief descriptions, not to mention the fact that octopus and eel seemed to be a popular choice. _Eeeew._ I was just about to give up and choose some random thing and hope it wasn't too fancy or weird for my tastes when I ran across something promising. _Fatty tuna sushi rolls? SCORE! _I smiled to myself, proud of my victory against the evil fancy-schmancy restaurant.

After setting down my menu, I decided to get a good look around the place. I wasn't so intimidated now that Tamaki had drug me in here and unintentionally gotten it over with, I would have to thank him later. The atmosphere was pretty nice, with the exception of being surrounded by a bunch of rich snobs of course. Every once in a while I would catch the gaze of someone who had a problem with the way I was dressed, a quick glare from my end would quickly put a halt to the silent criticism.

The ceiling had a nice molded pattern and the wallpaper had an admittedly elegant oriental look to it. Almost everything was in a shade of almond-beige or gold with the occasional painting or sculpture lining the walls. Near the center of the building there was small fountain with running water that beautifully blended with the soft melody of piano keys. My eyes skimmed over the scene until they finally found their mark. In the far corner of a separate dining hall there was an ebony baby grand piano. I could just barely see the keys but I was still mesmerized by the swift, gliding movements of the musician's hands as they glided over the keys.

"You like the piano?" I was snapped out of my state of enjoyment when Tamaki had asked me that question.

"Hm? Oh yes, my mother used to play quite often." I replied, folding my hands in my lap while remembering the sound that would float from the upstairs while I played with my dolls as a young child.

"She used to? Why doesn't she play anymore?" He asked inquiringly. His question caught me off guard, didn't he know? _Haruhi didn't tell you? My mother is dead. _I almost said that, but an idea occurred. I instantly turned my focus and met Haruhi's eyes, the expression on her face told me she was thinking about the exact same thing. _Haruhi must've kept it to herself for a reason, even though she doesn't know the whole truth, she must want me to be able to live as normally as possible. _I smiled ever so slightly, and decided to keep my darkness to myself. A normal social life was too great of an opportunity to pass up.

"She has become quite busy with the company lately and can't seem to find the time, I'm afraid." I answered politely, smiling with fake apology.

"I see, well that's unfortunate." Tamaki said sadly. He then perked up, "Do you have a piano? I could play for you!" He exclaimed.

I smiled genuinely and nodded. _Tamaki Suoh, you are the weirdest guy I've ever met._


End file.
